Meraki Intros Subscription-Based Wired Routers

Meraki is leaving its traditional Wi-Fi comfort zone to release some wired routers that use a cloud-based subscription service. The interesting thing about this hardware, reports Wi-Fi Planet, is that subscription model: Though customers own the hardware, it stops working if the subscription lapses.

The traditional enterprise network pays for routers that are then typically managed via the corporate LAN or VPN. Wi-Fi networking vendor Meraki is now aiming to challenge the traditional model of management and acquisition of wired routers with a new cloud-based subscription service for router management and hardware.

The new Meraki cloud-managed MX50 and MX70 routers include application firewalls as well as traffic shaping features. As opposed to traditional router deployments, the MX50 and MX70 routers are managed via a cloud service deployed by Meraki.MPLS
tunnels, leased line and other types of high cost dedicated links between branches to connect them all," Kiren Sekar, director of marketing at Meraki told InternetNews.com. "The Meraki device is designed to use commodity Internet connections."

Meraki had previously focused its efforts on offering Wi-Fi management via the cloud and is now extending the model to wired routers. WAN
interface. The MX50 is intended for small office of up to 20 users and provides stateful firewall throughput of 100 Mbps. In contrast, the MX70 is a more robust device with two WAN interfaces, four LAN ports and 400 Mbps of stateful firewall throughput.

The underlying operating system in the MX50 and MX70 router is a customized Linux base that Meraki has enhanced.

"The software on the device is proprietary, it is Linux-based, but it's actually firmware and software that we developed," Sekar said.